[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 173 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)] [Senate] [Pages S11027-S11028] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] MAIL ORDER PHARMACY RATINGS Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I commend the Department of Veterans Affairs on a very impressive recent achievement. The Department's mail- order pharmacy program was recently rated as top in the Nation among mail-order pharmacies by J.D. Power and Associates in their 2010 U.S. National Pharmacy Study. VA received a score of 888 points out of a maximum possible score of 1,000. The Department did not receive an award for this achievement because their pharmacy service is only open to veterans and their families, but they did outscore the award recipient by a full 34 points, and the mail-order pharmacy average by 70 points. VA's program received the highest scores in the J.D. Power categories of overall experience, prescription ordering, prescription delivery, and cost competitiveness. This is an extraordinary achievement, not only to be rated first in the Nation, but to so highly exceed the private sector. I congratulate VA, and especially commend Secretary Shinseki and Mr. Michael Valentino, Chief Consultant, Pharmacy Benefits Management Services, for their exceptional leadership success in implementing the mail-order pharmacy program. [[Page S11028]] ____________________